The present disclosure relates to apparatus and methods for producing fiberglass insulation batts, and in particular, batts of fiberglass insulation suitable for use in building construction. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to fiberglass insulation batts that are configured to be converted into separate fiberglass insulation strips of various predetermined widths in the field without the use of cutting tools.
Fiberglass insulation is made of glass fibers held together by a binder. Glass fibers are produced by melting sand or recycled glass products and spinning those materials to produce tiny strands of fiberglass. Glass fibers will not stick together unless they are glued or bound together. A binder is an adhesive material that holds fibers together, allowing them to keep their shape or overall form. Fiberglass insulation is made, for example, by spraying a binder on the glass fibers. After being cured in an oven, the binder holds the fibers together.
A batt is a blanket of fiberglass insulation used to insulate residential and commercial buildings. Some batts include a paper or foil facing material affixed to the fiberglass insulation, and other batts do not include any facing material.
According to the present disclosure, a frangible fiberglass insulation batt includes a pair of fiberglass strips arranged to lie in side-by-side relation to one another and a frangible polymerized binder bridge spanning a gap between the fiberglass strips and retaining the fiberglass strips in side-by-side relation. Although glass fibers and binder are present in normal amounts in the fiberglass strips, an insubstantial amount of glass fibers is present in the binder bridge. Thus, internal bonds of the binder bridge are relatively weak in comparison to internal bonds of the fiberglass strips.
In the field at a construction site, a worker can separate one of the fiberglass strips (included in the frangible fiberglass insulation batt according to the present disclosure) from the other of the strips by pulling one strip laterally away from the other strip using a “peeling away” action owing to relatively weak internal bonds in the frangible polymerized binder bridge. No tools are needed to accomplish such separation of the two fiberglass strips.
A method of producing such a frangible fiberglass insulation batt comprises the steps for, in series, passing a stream of uncured fiberglass insulation through a cutter to form two side-by-side fiberglass strips, passing the two side-by-side strips through a binder applicator, and then passing the two side-by-side strips through a curing oven. The binder applicator applies a binder to one or both of the strips and the strips are mated to establish the frangible polymerized binder bridge between the strips. In the curing oven, heat generated in the oven causes binder associated with opposing longitudinally extending side walls of the strips to polymerize in a gap between the two side-by-side strips to establish the frangible polymerized binder bridge. This binder bridge spans the gap and retains the two fiberglass strips in fixed relation to one another until the frangible polymerized binder bridge is torn along its length by a construction worker in the field.
In an illustrative embodiment, the binder applicator includes a strip separator, a binder dispenser, and a strip joiner. The strip separator intercepts and deflects the moving fiberglass insulation after it exits the cutter to separate the two side-by-side strips along a cut line therebetween to expose opposing side edges of the strips and provide a widened gap between the strips. The binder dispenser is located in or near the widened gap between the strips and configured to dispense a binder on one or both of the opposing side edges of the strips. The strip joiner is configured to manipulate one or more of the strips to mate or otherwise arrange the opposing side edges of the strips so that binder deposited therebetween is polymerized during exposure to heat in the curing oven to bond with the fiberglass strips to establish the frangible polymerized binder bridge spanning the gap between the fiberglass strips.
Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived.